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      In time for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of D-Day, a website
      for veterans of the British Armed Forces has started an online forum,
      where World War II veterans can post their stories and answer questions
      for a new generation that is largely unfamiliar with what they did.
      More than 20 veterans of the Normandy invasion are participating in the
      project called "Meet the Heroes." Internet users can log on to the website
      ServicePals.com and ask the veterans questions about their war
      experiences, especially what it was like on the day when more than 150,000
      allied troops landed on French soil to face Hitler's army.
      The website's managing director, Ross Williams, launched "Meet the Heroes"
      May 27.
      "The idea is so the younger generations can talk to D-Day veterans
      directly," he said. "It gives them the opportunity to tell the younger
      generation what it was like. Typically, these people were 16, 17, 18 years
      old at the point of D-Day, so very young indeed. Those veterans who are
      still alive and able to speak to the younger generation, we think it is
      important for them to be given that opportunity now before it is too late
      for everyone."
      A recent poll by Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper says 73 percent of
      British people under age 25 do not know what D-Day was. Some of the 1000
      young people surveyed said they think the event happened in Japan in 1962.
      One D-Day Air Force veteran who is part of the Meet the Heroes project,
      Edwin Redman, said that it is important for young people to remember what
      the D-Day generation did.

BYLINE=MEGAN PARLEN
      DATELINE=LONDON
      CONTENT=
      VOICED AT:
      HEADLINE: Queen Opens Princess Diana Memorial
      INTRO: Queen Elizabeth opened a memorial fountain for the late Princess
      Diana on Tuesday in London's Hyde Park. The queen spoke of her fond
      memories of Diana, despite their often-contentious relationship. Megan
      Parlen reports from London.
      TEXT: Queen Elizabeth opened the memorial with her first speech about
      Diana since the eve of her funeral in 1997.
      ///1ST QUEEN ACT///
      "Of course, there were difficult times. But memories mellow with the
      passing of the years. I remember especially the happiness she gave to my
      two grandsons. Such memories are most people's memorials."
      ///END ACT///
      But the queen said some people deserve a more public memorial and Diana
      deserved one because of the impact she had on the world.
      ///2ND QUEEN ACT///
      "Central to this remains the extraordinary effect
      Diana had on those around her. Her drive to empathize with those in
      difficulty, hardship or distress; her willingness to embrace a new cause;
      her shrewd ability to size up all those she met allowed her not only to
      touch people's lives but to change them."
      ///END ACT///
      Diana's former husband, Prince Charles, their sons, princes William and
      Harry and other members of the royal party joined the queen at the brief
      dedication ceremony. Some of the late princess' relatives from the Spencer
      family, including her brother Charles, also attended the ceremony.
      The Spencer family has not appeared alongside the royal family since
      Diana's funeral, when Charles Spencer made an angry speech about how she
      had been treated.
      The memorial is a large, shallow, oval moat surrounding a massive area of
      grass. Water runs down both sides, landing in a pool at the bottom. The
      surface is lined with anti-slip stones so children can play in the water.
      The six-and-a-half-million-dollar fountain has received both praise and
      criticism. Some people say it is not grand enough, while others call it
      elegant and peaceful. Still others say the money should have been used to
      build a hospital or some other more-useful institution in keeping with the
      causes Diana advocated.
      ///REST OPT///
      The queen complimented the design, and said Diana would have appreciated
      it, too.
      ///3rd QUEEN ACT///
      "I believe that you have given the park, at the very heart of our capital
      city that Diana knew so well, a highly original memorial which captures
      something of the essence of a remarkable human being. I think Diana would
      have enjoyed it. And I believe she would want all of us to do so, too."
      ///END ACT///
      The fountain is near Kensington Palace, where Princess Diana lived, and
      close to a walking path and playground also dedicated in her memory.
      (Signed)
      NEB/MP/AWP/RH/FC

Princess Diana Memorial Fountain Draws Praise, Criticism
            Megan Parlen
            London
            01 Jul 2004, 17:10 UTC

            Listen to Megan Parlen's report from London (RealAudio)
            Parlen report - Download 490k (RealAudio)


                  AP
                  Princess Diana
                  (1995 file photo)
            A memorial fountain for the late Princess Diana will open in London
            Tuesday, marking the seventh anniversary of her death. And like the
            princess herself, the memorial has drawn its share of controversy,
            praise and criticism.

                  AP
                  Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain, in London's Hyde
                  Park
            The fountain is a large, oval moat with water running down both
            sides, landing in a pool at the bottom. The surface is lined with
            multi-textured, anti-slip stones, where children can safely paddle
            in the water. The moat surrounds a massive area of grass with a dry
            crossing point so people can enter the oval.
            The designers say the fountain is intended to expresses the concept
            of 'reaching out and letting in,' based on Princess Diana's
            inclusive and accessible nature. The memorial is in Hyde Park, near
            Kensington Palace, where the princess lived, and close to a walking
            path and a playground also dedicated in her memory.
            The chief architect, Kathryn Gustafson, says the fountain serves
            both as a peaceful place where people can relax and contemplate, and
            as a fun area where children can play.
            Ms. Gustafson says the memorial's design is representative of
            Princess Diana's character.
            "I think the fountain represents Diana. She is like many people. You
            go through hard times, and you find your way through them. You go
            through good times. She was able to move through that and hold on to
            who she was," she said. "There are all sorts of fun things in the
            fountain that are turbulent and cascading down, and champagne
            bubbles, and total calm, and playful. There are many things about
            her personality that it hopes to acknowledge and memorialize."
            But some people are not pleased with the memorial fountain. Critics
            say it is not elaborate enough to properly pay tribute to Princess
            Diana. Others say the $6.5 million spent to build the fountain would
            have been better spent building a children's hospital. Diana had a
            lifelong interest in children's health.
            During a preview of the fountain a week before the opening, people
            passing by had mixed reactions.
            "I wasn't so keen on it. Because it's a bit too plain for me," one
            woman said. "I didn't like all the concrete. Because I walked by it
            initially and I thought, 'What's that stuck there?'"
            "I think it's very interactive, and the whole memorial is alive,"
            countered a man. "So, it's quite unique compared to most memorials.
            I think it's absolutely perfect. It's very unique and outstanding."
            "I've just learned how much money it actually cost. The money could
            have been put to something that could remind you of her that would
            have been a lot more useful," the woman responded. "Perhaps, a
            special unit at a hospital, or something like that."

                  AP
                  Rosa Monckton
            Princess Diana's mother, who died recently, criticized the design
            plans for the fountain, saying it lacked 'grandeur.' But the
            chairwoman of the fountain memorial committee, and friend of
            Diana's, Rosa Monckton, disputes the criticism that the fountain is
            too simple.
            "One of the criticisms that I have read is that this fountain is not
            grand enough," she said. "And I think a point I really do want to
            make was that she was not grand. She was the most unstuffy person I
            think I know. And I think this fountain reflects that."
            Ms. Monckton says she did not want the fountain to be a spectacle
            because Diana was treated as a spectacle her whole life.
            Queen Elizabeth will open the memorial fountain on Tuesday. Diana's
            former husband Prince Charles, and their sons, Princes William and
            Harry, and other members of the royal family will join her. Some of
            Diana's relatives from the Spencer family, including her brother,
            will also attend. It will be the Spencer family's first public
            appearance alongside the royal family since Diana's funeral in 1997.

SLUG: 5-55476 ANTIQUITIES CONTROVERSY DATE: NOTE NUMBER:
      DATE=6/22/2004
      TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
      TITLE=ANTIQUITIES CONTROVERSY
      NUMBER=5-55476
      BYLINE=MEGAN PARLEN
      DATELINE=LONDON
      CONTENT=
      VOICED AT:
      HEADLINE: Olympic Controversy: Britain and Greece Spar Over Marbles
      INTRO: As the summer Olympics in Athens approach, the ongoing campaign by
      the Greek government for the return of some ancient sculptures held by the
      British Museum is back in the spotlight. The disagreement over the
      sculptures is one of many such disputes around the world. Megan Parlen
      reports from London.
      TEXT: Visitors to the British Museum discuss the controversy, just outside
      the hall where the sculptures are displayed.
      ///MUSEUM VISITORS ACT///
      (Woman) "I think it's wonderful to be able to see them here. I think a lot
      of people get to see them here. If I were Greek, I would be very unhappy
      about the fact that I had to go to London to see them."
      (Man) "Well, I don't think they should have them back because if we hadn't
      taken them away they would probably have been destroyed by now anyway."
      ///END ACT///
      Those and other visitors to the British Museum have the chance to admire
      the sculptures, known as the Elgin Marbles. They were taken from the
      Parthenon Temple in Athens 200 years ago by a British diplomat, Thomas
      Bruce, known as Lord Elgin.
      The British Museum has about half of the original decorative band of
      sculptures that encircled the Parthenon. Greece has most of the rest, with
      a few pieces in various museums around the world.
      Greece wants to re-unite the collection and display it in a new museum
      being built near the ruins of the Parthenon. The Greek government was
      hoping it would have the marbles back in time for the Olympics, but that
      seems unlikely now, with the games just two months away.
      A London-based group called Marbles Reunited came up with a proposal for
      the British Museum to loan the sculptures to Greece on a long-term basis.
      But the spokeswoman for the British Museum, Joanna Mackle, says the
      proposal is not what it seems.
      ///ACT MACKLE///
      "When the word 'loan' is used, it's not the word 'loan' in the that way
      you or I or anybody might understand. A loan implies that you lend
      something and it returns. But what we're actually being asked for through
      the media and through politics is for the permanent removal of all of the
      sculptures forever, never to be returned to London. That's not a basis for
      any form of discussion."
      ///END ACT///
      The spokesman for the Greek Embassy in London, Nicos Papadakis, says all
      of the marbles should be together, where they originated. He says the new
      museum in Athens would display them in a gallery overlooking the Parthenon
      ruins.
      ///ACT PAPADAKIS///
      "Where should it best be seen? Where can it better be appreciated? Then, I
      have no doubt in my mind that the best place for them to be seen and
      appreciated is Athens. I think that the marbles cannot really be
      appreciated properly in a rather gloomy sort of big room in London with
      this kind of light. The sculptures were not sculpted for that sort of
      environment. Therefore, the marbles should be returned for that reason
      alone, because I believe that either the tourist, or the student, or the
      scholar can more clearly and precisely appreciate them in the right
      context. And this is our argument."
      ///END ACT///
      At the British Museum, the Elgin Marbles are hung along the walls of a
      long, rectangular room with a high ceiling, and lighting designed to seem
      like the outdoors. The sculptures stand out from the wall, depicting
      scenes from Greek mythology.
      ///BEGIN OPT///
      The Museum spokeswoman, Ms. Mackle, says the display in London provides a
      perspective that Athens cannot provide.
      ///2nd ACT MACKLE///
      "In London, in the context of the British Museum, a world museum, they
      tell the story in the context of Egypt, and the Near East, and Europe. So
      they give a much wider, if you like, story. So we feel that the division
      between London and Greece is probably a reasonably happy accident of
      history."
      ///END ACT///
      ///END OPT///
      The dispute over the Elgin Marbles is one of many art restitution cases
      around the world. For example, the Egyptian government wants the British
      Museum to return the two-thousand-year-old Rosetta Stone and the museum's
      collection of Egyptian mummies.
      ///BEGIN OPT/// The Glasgow Museum in Scotland housed a Native American
      heirloom, called the Ghost Dance Shirt, for more than a century. After
      years of negotiations, the museum returned the sacred shirt to the Lakota
      Sioux tribe of South Dakota in 1998. ///END OPT///
      At University College in London, Professor Emeritus Norman Palmer studies
      the law of art and cultural property. He says art restitution cases can
      encourage museums to think about their collections objectively, and to
      consider who the rightful owners are.
      ///PALMER ACT///
      "Whatever the reasons, there has certainly been an increased, I think,
      consciousness in this country and in other countries. Museums are
      beginning in some cases to return things. We've had a few cases of return
      to the United States, for example. And I think it is good that these
      questions are being opened and that policy is being candidly and
      transparently defined."
      ///END ACT///
      Professor Palmer says art repatriation cases are difficult to resolve
      because it is necessary to look far back in time to determine whether the
      antiquities were obtained legally.
      In the case of the Elgin Marbles, the British Museum says Lord Elgin got
      permission to remove them. The Greek government says he had no permission,
      and he carelessly hacked them off of the Parthenon.
      The future is as unclear as the past for the Elgin Marbles, as the debate
      continues among governments, museums and activist groups, and among
      visitors at the British Museum.
      ///REST OPT///
      ///2ND MUSEUM VISITORS ACT///
      (Woman) "It probably would be better in Athens; it's where it belongs. But
      sees that it's here now at the moment, we'll have to wait and see what
      happens with them.
      (Man) "You know, it's one of those things that what's done is done, and it
      should just continue that way. I really don't think we should go back and
      forth with it. And it's been here for so long. It's one of those things I
      think is almost petty."
      ///END ACT///
      For now, the five million people who visit the British Museum every year
      will continue to have the chance to contemplate both the sculptures and
      the controversy that surrounds them. (SIGNED)
      NEB/MP/AWP/MEM/FC

TITLE= MUSLIM/JEWISH DIALOGUE
      NUMBER=5-55502
      BYLINE=MEGAN PARLEN
      DATELINE=LONDON
      CONTENT=
      VOICED AT:
      HEADLINE: Jewish-Muslim Dialogue in London
      INTRO: The father of a Jewish Wall Street Journal reporter who was
      kidnapped and murdered by Islamic extremists in Pakistan two years ago is
      leading a series of public dialogues with a Pakistani scholar aimed at
      improving Jewish-Muslim relations. The series that began in the United
      States last yea,r moved to London this week (Wednesday) and will continue
      to travel around the world. Megan Parlen reports from London.
      TEXT: After Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and
      murdered, his father turned his grief and anger into a determination to
      help bridge the gap between Muslims and Jews.
      Israeli-born computer science professor Judea Pearl teamed up with a
      Pakistani scholar of Islamic studies Akbar Ahmed to launch a series of
      public discussions.
      The series began in Pennsylvania last year. It received such a positive
      response that they decided to take the program abroad. Their European
      launch was at the University of London in front of a multi-cultural
      audience that included Muslim religious leaders and rabbis.
      Professor Pearl says his son tried to promote cross-cultural understanding
      through his work as a reporter. And Mr. Pearl says these talks are in
      honor of Daniel's memory.
      ///PEARL ACT///
      He would have loved it, of course. He would have been thrilled to see
      people getting together that normally do not meet and dealing with issues
      that are at the center of global conflict.
      ///END ACT///
      The Islamic representative, Professor Ahmed, says he hopes these dialogues
      with Mr. Pearl encourage Muslims and Jews to try to listen to each other,
      and gain a mutual respect and understanding.
      ///AHMED ACT///
      I decided to do this dialogue because I felt every one of us involved in
      living in today's world, this very difficult, changing, dangerous world,
      needs to be involved in interfaith dialogue, particularly between Muslims
      and Jews, because the Muslim-Christian and the Christian-Jewish dialogues
      are developed. It's happening in many parts of the world. But the
      Jewish-Muslim dialogue is not very well developed. It does take place but
      it's not developed. I think this will help not only Muslims and Jews but
      ultimately help America and its relations with the Muslim world.
      ///END ACT///
      In their presentation in London, Mr. Ahmed and Mr. Pearl discussed the
      similarities and differences between Islam and Judaism. They also
      discussed the role religion plays in terrorism.
      ///DIALOGUE ACT///
      (Judea) Religion does play a role. The perpetrators that commit those
      crimes constantly speak in the name of Islam. (Ahmed) Here's the hard
      evidence Judea. Who are the nineteen hijackers? They're not religious
      leaders. They were spending nights at the bar before they take their
      flights. Who is Osama bin Laden? Now he may be fighting what he thinks is
      a religious war, but he is not a religious figure. Who are all the Al
      Qaida people who are slitting throats and brutalizing people? They are not
      coming from any great religious tradition.
      ///END ACT///
      Mr. Pearl says his son's death is a symbol of what has gone wrong in
      Muslim-Jewish relations. He hopes that by breaking down negative
      stereotypes and shifting the nature of discourse from accusations to
      understanding, he will help keep his son's spirit alive. (signed)
      NEB/MP/AWP/ FC

            The scientists involved in the study looked at rice production on a
            farm in the Philippines over a 12-year period, and combined their
            observations with climate data. They were surprised to find that
            higher nighttime temperatures resulted in lower rice production.
            Most previous research had focused on the impact of daytime
            temperature changes.
            Mr. Macintosh says it takes years for average temperatures to rise
            even one degree, so rice farmers will probably not notice the
            decline in their farms' output.
            "At the end of the day, even though much of the world and certainly
            western societies are concerned about an issue like this, it has
            absolutely no impact almost at the farmer level," he said. "Let's
            not fool ourselves, the rice farmers of the world are concerned
            about their next meal, about generating enough income to feed their
            families, and getting out of the poverty that literally millions of
            them are stuck in."
            But the International Rice Research Institute is worried about the
            problem. In its report, the institute blames the rising nighttime
            temperatures on global warming. The controversial theory of global
            warming says that pollution from the burning of fossil fuels in cars
            and furnaces is causing a long-term increase in temperatures
            worldwide.
            The director of the United Kingdom Climate Impact Program, Chris
            West, says the rice production study is further evidence that people
            need to do more to reduce pollution.
            "As this rice study shows, we need to start to adapt our human
            systems to the new conditions that we now recognize are coming and
            are happening now," he said. "But at the same time, we have got to
            recognize that if we don't start taking action now to address the
            causes of climate change, the changes in the latter part of this
            century and in subsequent centuries will be much greater and much
            more dramatic."
            Mr. West says if rising nighttime temperatures cause a decline in
            rice production, they likely have other effects as well.
            But a professor of global agriculture and economics at Cambridge
            University, Alister McFarquhar, does not believe there is evidence
            that global warming even exists. He says the increased temperatures
            observed in this study were probably caused by other factors.
            "They keep repeating the assumption that there is global warming in
            their paper," he said. "If they had simply said that we find
            nighttime temperatures affect rice yield more than daytime
            temperatures that would be interesting. But it is very curious that
            they haven't considered the effect of volcanic activity,
            particularly [Mount] Pinataubo, which is not very far away."
            But the spokesman for the rice research institute, Duncan Macintosh,
            does not want the debate over global warming to overshadow the
            results of the study.
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